Magic Tricks

The Mondrian Broadway Playing Cards pay tribute to painter Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), this particular deck being based on a Mondrian work entitled "Broadway Boogie Woogie" (1943), which expresses his fascination with New York, especially the lively beat and melody of American jazz, such as the Boogie Woogie. By turning to the world of real art, and drawing inspiration from the works of a famous abstract artist, we end up with a colourful and playful deck that is ideally suited to card flourishing.

Got Magic's founder Nicholas Earl has teamed up with designer Yves Krähenbühl to produce a deck directly based on this famous painting, with the tuck box featuring the work as a wrap-around piece, in four eye-catching primary colours. The card backs matches this artistic design, which is typical Mondrian, with simple colours, straight lines, and connected rectangular shapes. The rectangular yellow lines of the main pattern are interspersed with a series of coloured squares, and this particularly lends itself to the production of striking fans and spreads. I'm sure even Mondrian himself would have appreciated the impressive look generated by a fan!

The court cards retain the traditional artwork of standard playing cards, but the colour scheme has been altered to match the rest of the deck, using the primary colours of the card backs as a basis. I especially like how the typically garish colours of the courts are maximized to give a uniform set of colours on both the card faces and backs. This makes the deck particularly well suited for cardistry cuts and flourishes that showcase both sides of the cards, because the faces and backs work in tandem rather than against each other.

The number cards are entirely standard, making this a very practical and functional deck. Meanwhile the two Jokers reprise the fashionable lady in a cocktail dress who first made her appearance in the original deck, except that her dress pattern now features the design from the Broadway card backs. One Joker is in colour, while the other is in black and white. Two extra cards are also included, namely a double backer and a blank card.

As you'd expect, this deck is particularly at home in the hands of skilled hands of a cardist, since it is especially suited to card flourishing, due to the ease in which it produces beautiful fans and spreads, courtesy of the bold and colourful Mondrian patterns that decorate the cards. Fortunately for the non-cardists among us, it is also practical and familiar enough to be equally at home in the hands of a magician performing card magic, or on the card table for some hands of your favourite game.

The stylish patterns and colours of the Mondrian Broadway deck are matched by quality printing. Produced by USPCC on their crushed Bee stock, this deck is an all round top notch product that has good handling and durability to match its colourful good looks. While remaining a vibrant and faithful tribute to a true legend in the world of art, it not only makes a welcome contribution from the perspective of art, but will be appreciated and enjoyed by anyone who enjoys fine playing cards. - BoardGameGeek reviewer EndersGame